NORWALK, CT – April 11, 2016 – Merger and acquisition activity in the health care industry’s services sectors increased in 2015, both in deal volume and the dollar value of transactions, according to the 2016 Health Care Services Acquisition Report, Twenty-Second Edition. Deal volume for the health care services sectors rose 22%, to 936 transactions versus 765 in 2014. The dollar value of those deals grew 183%, to $175 billion, compared with $62 billion in 2014.

“Health care mergers and acquisitions posted record-breaking totals in 2015,” said Lisa E. Phillips, editor of the 2016 Health Care Services Acquisition Report. “The services side contributed 62% of 2015’s combined total of 1,503 deals, which is even higher than 2014, when services deals accounted for 58% of the deal total.”

Hospital merger and acquisition activity remained strong in 2015, up 3% to 102 transactions, compared with 99 transactions in 2014. An average of 2.6 hospitals were involved in each transaction, compared with an average of 1.8 in 2014 and 3.3 in 2013. “Several deals resulted from the mega-mergers of 2013,” Phillips observed. “We’re seeing more sales resulting from bankruptcies, especially in states that have not expanded Medicaid coverage.”